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Year-round baseball in the South could lead to more injuries, according to UF Health research

Baseball pitchers are prone to elbow injuries, but pitchers who live or play in the South are at even more risk, a new University of Florida Health study finds.

Blame the weather. The warmer climate that draw tourists and retirees also allows for year-round ball, which can lead to throwing-arm overuse.

The paper, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine in April, shows that college baseball pitchers are at a 5.5 percent higher risk for tearing a ligament in their elbow, an injury that primarily plagues pitchers, if they currently play in the South. Additionally, pitchers who pitched high school baseball in southern states are 6.2 percent more likely to tear the ligament compared to pitchers who pitched high school baseball in northern states.